How long can glass be stored in Star San?

[ITbrewer229]

I've found a few threads on prolonging the life of Star San which have been very helpful. To re-iterate for anyone who hasn't found this yet, Star San is a viable sanitizer as long as the PH is below 3.5. Invest in a PH meter! The money alone you will save on Star San will pay for it 10 times over.

Now, on to my question. I've read that Star San can degrade vinyl if left to soak, but are there any negatives to storing glass? What I'd like to do is get a big tub of Star San and let a batch of bottles sit in there until I'm ready to use. I'm bottling a batch right now and getting frustrated that I have to re-clean bottles because they got dusty. I'm wondering if I can save some headache and just store them in a sealed container of Star San after I clean them so they are ready to go on bottling day?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jpmg]

You should be ok. Glass is used to store much more volatile liquids; star san shouldn't hurt it.

 

[ITbrewer229]

Fair point. I had assumed as much. I guess I was looking more of anything that maybe wasn't so obvious. For example, would extended soaking time create some kind of film that would negatively affect the beer? I wouldn't think so, but not being experienced, I was just looking for some insight from anyone who has potentially practiced this in the past.

 

[amandabab]

For example, would extended soaking time create some kind of film that would negatively affect the beer?

the water you make it with can. distilled water won't.
I use iodophor more than starsan because I have to buy water to use it efficiently.

with my water 1/4oz a gallon just to make ph, it clouds (i don't mind using it cloudy) within hours and will leave a white film on things soaked for a long time.

 

[ITbrewer229]

Thanks Amandabab. That's the kind of insight I was more looking for. I was reading the "Star San vs Idophor" thread and it seems Idophor doesn't have the staying power of Star San. I use filtered water (through a Britta filter) and the PH stays low. I mixed up a batch over a month ago and it's still holding around 2 PH. I think I'll give the star san tub soak a try and see how it works out.

 

[day_trippr]

Don't know how long one can store glass in Star San, but I've been storing Star San in glass for years with no untoward effects.

I keep five gallons of Star San/distilled water mix in a glass carboy, replenishing when necessary, replacing every 6 months. Zero issues...

Cheers!

 

[pfgonzo]

Keep mine in a plastic homer bucket. We have great water, and though it will turn cloudy eventually, the PH meter stays well under 3.0 for several months. In fact, I haven't yet had a bucket go bad on me, but I get nervous around the 3 month mark and make a new batch around then.

As for glass, I have heard/read that undiluted (i.e., straight from the 5-Star container) Starsan will etch glass, but I presume it's fine when diluted.

 

[MaxStout]

When you consider that the original use of those 6.5 gallon glass carboys was to ship concentrated acids, I don't think that StarSan will affect glass much.

Not many things will eat glass--hydrofluoric acid is the only thing that comes to mind.

 

[ITbrewer229]

Cool. Thanks everyone for the insight. Much appreciated.